


From Demons to Ghosts

by PinkLion



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Human Bill Cipher, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-04-14 02:31:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14126184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkLion/pseuds/PinkLion
Summary: Dipper moves to college in the quiet town of Gravity Falls hoping to pass his college years in relative peace but it's hard not to get into trouble when you're the only one who can see ghosts, and with a weird roommate who knows more than he should Dipper's hope for a quiet college life seem far away.





	1. Chapter 1

Dipper took a deep breath entering the dorm building hesitantly, he readjusted his duffle bag strap his eyes scanning the various doors looking for his room, his mind buzzed with anxiety millions of worries of all that could go wrong, what if no one liked him, what if his roommate hated him and the next few years were going to be a nightmare. What if his classes were too hard, what if they had to be in group projects and no one would be in his group. He took a few calming breaths pausing at his room, checking three times to make sure it was the right room; Mabel’s words echoed in his head and he mumbled them to himself “you’re going to be fine, stop being such a worry head.” He repeated this a few times his eyes closed, when he opened them his face grew pink as he realised two people had been watching him, a jock stereotype looking guy and an uninterested girl

“Um first day jitters y’know” he chuckled nervously, hoping he sounded even a little casual. The guy rolled his eyes at him but the girl smiled at him, 

“I hear ya man, my names Martha and this is Mark,” She nudged the guy who sighed and crossed his arms seeming uninterested, 

“Um, hi, I’m Dipper,” He gave her a nervous smile, he felt himself calm down a little, he was glad to see a friendly face, 

“That’s a weird name,” Mark grumbled, Martha nudged him playfully, 

“Ignore him, he’s just acting tough though I don’t know who he’s trying to impress.” Martha rolled her eyes and Mark’s cheeks dusted with pink before he just crossed his arms again looking away from them both, 

“Whatever,” he grumbled avoiding eye contact with them both, 

“I… It’s just a nickname because of uh this,” Dipper lifted his bangs revealing his birthmark, feeling a little self-conscious but Mabel had said it could be used as a conversation piece. He half expected laughter or teasing but Martha’s eyes widened as she breathed a cool, even Mark turned to look at him before muttering a cool himself, 

“Is it like a birthmark or something?” She asked curiously, and Dipper dropped his hand nodding his head, 

“People started calling me it in middle school and it just stuck I guess,” he said, his anxieties lessened as he realised he had already made a friend and since neither were making fun of him, yet, they seemed like good people.  
“Well I’ve gotta go unpack Mark is having a party a few doors down tonight, in room 107 if you wanna come along, it’ll be a lot of fun.” Martha smiled, Dipper gave a small smile back, 

“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Dipper replied glancing at Mark who shrugged, 

“Don’t worry about it,” He said pushing off the wall, he gave Dipper a small smile before walking to his room, 

“Will we see you there, at nine?” Martha asked opening the door opposite Dippers, 

“Uh yeah okay,” Dipper replied, Martha gave him a grin before closing her door behind her. Dipper felt relaxed when he opened the door to his room, he had already made some friends and been invited to a party, though his gut twisted with anxiety when he thought about actually going to a college party. Mabel was the party animal Dipper just followed her reluctantly, so she had someone to make sure she got home safe. He glanced around the room, surprisingly it was slightly bigger than expected, the large window had a great view of the nearby forest, it looked to be about a twenty-minute walk away and Dipper noted that he should go visit it at some point. He eyed one of the beds, the sheets were all messed up and oddly there was beer bottles in a circle around it, he noted that the room smelled distantly of weed and cringed a little, he set his bags down on the foot of the free bed before flopping down onto the bed tiredly, remembering his lack of sleep made his eyes feel heavy and he breathed out a sigh. His brain still swam with anxiety and he reasoned with himself that he could deal with a drug addict room-mate, he hadn’t really expected much less from college though he had hoped that the stereotypes had been exaggerated.

His phone took that moment to buzz and he sat up rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Mabel was calling him he picked up the phone accidently yawning into the receiver, 

“Hey sleepy head, you in your dorm now? I just got in mine though my room-mate isn’t here yet I wonder who I’ll get, so what’s it like?” Mabel chirped happily, while they had both decided to go to a college in Gravity Falls, Mabel had gone to a fashion design college on the other side of town, Dipper appreciated that she was still close by, they would be able to meet often. Dipper ended up going to the rather prestigious school in Gravity Falls and was glad to finally be surrounded by people who actually wanted to learn, well mostly. 

“Yeah Mabel, it’s nice, got a good view, what’s your room like?” He asked unzipping his bag, digging for a few books. 

“It’s great everyone here seems so nice they’re my people, have you made any friends yet?” She asked, and Dipper could practically feel her excited smile over the phone, 

“uh I guess, I met these two people outside my room who seemed nice.” Dipper used his shoulder to hold his phone to his ear while he used both hands to try and find his newest book, he had bought it on the way to the dorm from a second-hand bookstore that he was sure would become his second home, it was quiet and big, but not too big, so there were many places to sit quietly and read. Dipper realised he had zoned out thinking when the phone began to slip, his sister calling his name as if she were slipping along with it. “Sorry Mabel zoned out for a sec,” he mumbled, and he heard Mabel sigh overexaggerated, 

“I asked if you’ve met your roommate yet,” she made sure to sound fake annoyed and Dipper couldn’t help but laugh a little, 

“Not yet, he seems to be out at the moment but by the looks of it he’s messy,” Dipper scrunched his nose up seeing the mess on the other side of the room and briefly wondered how long the other had been there to make such a mess. 

“Don’t be such a grump Dip dop, it’s not like you can talk,” Mabel giggled, Dipper rolled his eyes though the other couldn’t see him, 

“Whatever,” he replied, “So you got any plans for the night?” He asked changing the subject, 

“I think I’m going to go to this party with a few friends, what about you, let me guess,” she paused dramatically, “using our twin telepathy I guess you’re… going to stay up all night reading some nerd book,” Her grin was evident in her voice and Dipper felt himself smirk, 

“Your twin telepathy skills need some work Mabel, it happens that I am also going to a party,” he heard Mabel gasp dramatically, 

“You? Party? With other people, I knew college changed people, but I never thought it would happen so quick,” Mabel sighed melodramatically, the sound of creaking indicating she had flopped down onto her bed, Dipper chuckled shaking his head slightly, 

“I’m a new man,” he announced sarcastically, 

“You sure you’re gunna be alright,” Mabel asked concern filling her voice for a moment, Dipper couldn’t stop the sigh from escaping his lips, 

“I’ll be fine Mabel, these other people actually seem really nice,” Well Martha does, he mentally added, he wasn’t sure about Mark he seemed like another jock like the ones who used to bully him

“Okay, just don’t go wild or anything,” concern dripped into Mabel’s voice her tone motherly and Dipper suppressed another sigh,

“Seriously it’ll be fine you don’t need to worry I’m not planning on drinking or anything,” He replied seriously, Mabel let out a quiet sigh,

“Oh, hey I heard there was a diner in town somewhere, we should check it out tomorrow, oh and we should go visit Grunkle Stan and Ford sometime.” Mabel abruptly changed the subject, her voice back to its normal cheer 

“The diner sounds fun but are you sure we should go visit them, they are quite busy, they said they were planning another trip around the world,” 

“That’s why we should go see them while we can,” Mabel chirped, 

“Yeah okay, we can go see them one weekend after classes start,” He mumbled. They chatted for a while longer before Mabel decided to go get some food, Dipper unpacked a little before sitting down to read his book, his eyes feeling heavy.

Dipper woke up from a nightmare filled sleep with a start to see his roommate just entering the room the distinct smell of cigarettes filling his nose, he tried to hide his disgust not wanting to offend his roommate on their first meeting, 

“Aw did sleeping beauty have a nice dream,” his the other asked obnoxiously, Dipper rolled his eyes remnants of his nightmare flashing in his memoires, 

“Oh, and hi nice to meet you too,” Dipper bit back a mixture of bad dreams and lack of sleep souring his mood. 

“Woah, I was just joking kid geez lighten up,” the other laughed raising his hands in a mock calm down gesture. Dipper took a deep breath to calm himself down, the word kid irking him, but he decided to let it slide in favour of keeping the peace. Despite his roommate apparently being a complete asshole, he didn’t want to get into any arguments their first meeting. 

“Whatever, my names Dipper Pines by the way,” he grumbled. He ran a hand over his face to wake himself up, he had apparently fallen asleep while reading his neck ached from the uncomfortable position and he lifted a hand to try and rub it better, 

“What a weird name, your parents hate you or something?” the other guy smirked and Dipper rolled his eyes though he wondered if he should start using his actual name to avoid having to explain himself each time, 

“It’s a nickname,” He explained though he didn’t elaborate; nor did he feel like showing his birthmark assuming the guy would make fun of him. 

“Well that’s dumb,” the other guy said bluntly, 

“Well what’s your name?” Dipper asked sounding more exasperated than he had intended, 

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” the other grinned mischievously and Dipper wondered if he kept rolling his eyes like this they might stick there, 

“Fine don’t tell me,” Dipper threw his hands up in defeat, he checked his phone electing to ignore the other guy in the room. It was around seven and Dipper figured he should get some food from the cafeteria. He realised he was still dressed in his black jeans and red top, he had on a few necklaces, one was a silver triangle on a long charm, it was supposed to ward off most evil and had worked most of the time he wore it, and he had a golden outline of a pine tree similar to the one on his favourite hat, a good luck charm from his parents, they had given Mabel one similar but with a shooting star from her favourite sweater it was a gift for getting in to college and Dipper absently wondered if Mabel was wearing hers. Dipper noticed an outline on his skin from where some of his bracelets had been pressed into his skin, the bracelets had been a gift from Mabel, she had made one out of wool and weaved a few more out of various materials she had, Dipper was apprehensive about wearing them but Mabel insisted he looked cool and while he wasn’t fully convinced he didn’t want to upset her by refusing to wear them. 

Digging through his bag Dipper pulled out some deodorant and was about to spray it when a thought occurred to him, 

“Do you have asthma or anything?” He asked apprehensively almost not caring but he didn’t want to be the cause of this guy’s hospitalisation after only knowing him for a few minutes. The guy looked at him curiously and grinned, 

“Aw so caring,” He mock swooned, 

“I just don’t want to be responsible for putting you in hospital before college even starts,” he muttered back irritated. When the guy didn’t make a move to respond Dipper just put some on and the guys eyes widened dramatically, 

“Oh my gods I actually do have asthma, you trying to kill me?” He coughed and Dipper immediately panicked, 

“Oh damn, I’m so sorry, do you need me to call someone?” Dipper asked panicked moving over to be near the guy but he was interrupted by mocking laughter and Dipper dropped his hands in frustration glaring at the guy,

“What the hell man?” Dipper hated his voice for breaking half way through his sentence and making the guy laugh even more, 

“You should have seen your face dude it was hilarious,” He breathed through his laughter, before taking a deep breath, “Man you are so gullible,” He grinned and Dipper grit his teeth to surpress his frustration, he did not find faking an asthma attack funny at all, “You really gotta lighten up kid,” Bill’s grin turned onto a condescending smirk and Dipper almost screamed at that, he took a calming breath and turned around leaving for the cafeteria, shutting the door a little harder than necessary. 

The cafeteria was bustling with students, but Dipper noticed a lot of free tables and went to grab some food before sitting near the corner hoping to avoid talking to a lot of people. He tapped away on his phone while he ate grateful that this college had an all you can eat cafeteria, he hadn’t realised how hungry he was until just now. He was peacefully tapping away when an apparition appeared opposite him, Dipper visibly tensed but made no move to react verbally, his mind raced. He did not want to be known as the freak who talked to himself, he couldn’t go through the same bullying as high school. He took a few deep breaths realising his breath had been getting shallower. The apparition tilted its head silently urging Dipper to give a reaction, Dipper glared at it before letting his eyes go back to his phone. The apparition was of a young boy seemingly rather recent form his modern clothing like all the ghosts Dipper saw this one was silent, but it seemed to want his attention. After a minute of trying it gave up seeming sad, Dipper tried to push away his sympathy concentrating more on the game on his phone, he had expected it to move on once it realised he wouldn’t get any attention, but it simply stayed sitting ominously at the end of the table. Dipper, unnerved, continued to ignore it pushing his food around absently suddenly losing his appetite, he never could feel comfortable eating in front of them, it just felt wrong. Dipper was about to give up and leave when Martha and Mark spotted him from the other end of the cafeteria, Martha waved at him enthusiastically before saying something to Mark and then bounded over to Dipper, 

“Hey,” Dipper managed a small smile at her concentrating on her and trying to push the small kids stare out of his mind. 

“Hey, you mind if we sit with you?” She asked taking a seat before he could answer, 

“Sure,” Dipper smiled grateful for the distraction, 

“Thanks, so, what you majoring in?” Martha asked conversationally, 

“Oh, uh English literature and creative writing, you?” 

“Same here, you got Mrs. Baker for literature I hear she’s awesome!” her face brightened, Dipper thought for a moment, 

“Yeah, I do,” He smiled happy that now he wouldn’t be totally alone in his classes, they discussed their class schedule and found they were mostly in the same classes. Mark came back shortly after with two trays of food, he dropped a tray in front of Martha and sat next to Dipper, 

“What you guys talking about?” He asked shoving a forkful of food into his mouth, 

“Our classes, turns out were in a lot of the same classes,” Martha beamed, 

“Sounds nice,” Mark replied stuffing more food in his mouth, 

“So, Dipper where you from? Me and Mark are from Arizona,” Martha began stuffing food into her own mouth letting Dipper take over the conversation, 

“Oh, I’m from Piedmont, did you both go to school together?” Dipper asked, 

“Yeah, we went to high school together,” Mark replied when he noticed Martha’s mouth was full of food, 

“Is anyone from your high school here?” Martha asked after swallowing,

“Um I don’t think so, not anyone I know at least.” Dipper replied, they continued chatting getting to know each other and Dipper found himself liking them both more and more, he felt more relaxed around them both and he eventually he barely noticed the spirit still ominously staring at him. Dipper found out that Mark was studying creative writing and German, he was in a few of Dippers classes and as they talked more Dipper found that despite his tough appearance he was actually pretty dorky, though he was still pretty popular already many people greeted him as they passed by, a group of girls seemed to be sat staring at him from a different table. Martha seemed to know a few people too but not as many, apparently, she was pretty nerdy, and they exchanged book recommendations.

Once they finished eating they all made their way to their rooms, Mark’s room noticeably had music blasting from it and when Dipper checked he found it was just after nine, he and Martha promised to make an appearance soon, Martha saying she wanted to change and try to coax her roommate into going and Dipper saying he had some things to do first. When he entered he felt a twist of anxiety tug at him and he began to regret saying he was going to go, all those new people in that room, drinking yelling. He took a calming breath and strode over to his bed noticing that his roommate was absent, though the room looked messier than before. Dipper kicked an empty beer bottle out of the way, he flopped onto his bed which gave a heavy creak in protest. He turned his head to face the other bed in the room and almost screamed when the apparition returned his pleading eyes begging for something Dipper couldn’t quite grasp. 

“What do you want,” Dipper grit out, he had hoped a small town like Gravity Falls would have close to zero activity, most of the spirits he’d seen when he arrived at Gravity Falls were slow and seemingly unintelligent trapped in their own endless loops of sadness or insanity. The small boy pointed to the window Dipper raised his head to see what he was pointing at, when his face scrunched up in confusion the boy seemed to huff in annoyance, “Sorry I can’t read your mind,” Dipper bit out sarcastically. The boy moved further towards the window and pointed at what seemed to be the forest, “the forest?” Dipper question and the boy nodded eagerly, “Look kid I can’t help you, whatever you have going on fix it yourself I ain’t getting involved.” Dipper huffed, the boy looked annoyed and glared at Dipper who just shrugged, “believe me man you are not the first ghost I’ve seen and you are far from the first I’ve refused to help so suck it up,” The boys glare intensified and he crossed his arms, Dipper felt his anger begin to rise, “I’m sorry man but all you guys do is come into my life and ruin it with whatever crap you got going on, well not anymore deal with it,” Dipper glared at the boy who looked as if he were about to cry. Dipper would have felt sorry for him if this was the first time this sort of thing had happened, he had learned long ago that all these sort of things did were land him in therapy. He sighed turning his head away from the spirit and looking at the wall his bed was pushed up against it was a dull white, uninteresting to say the least but it was better than staring at that kids face, he felt an icy small hand on his arm and he whipped his head round to see the boy looking at him with pleading eyes, the contact made his head rush with emotions mostly sadness and he felt tears begin to run down his cheek as pain, sadness and worry filled his body. This was the worst part, feeling all of the spirits emotions so intense, usually his charm prevented this but Dipper curled in on himself shuddering as the wave of emotions hit him full force until he could hardly take it anymore. He sat up quickly getting up and moving forwards, startling the spirit who stepped backwards until he seemed to be forced to stop by the ring of bottles around his roommate’s bed, both of them looked wide eyed at the ring of bottles before the ghost disappeared.

“Well that’s weird,” Dipper mumbled out loud, tears still fell from his eyes remnants of the emotions still plaguing his mind. The sadness began to fade and Dipper let out a small sniff, he moved to inspect the ring of bottles, he had never seen ghosts react like that before it was as if they formed a protection barrier of some sort. 

“Weird,” Dipper mumbled again about to reach out and grab a bottle when the dorm room swung open and his roommate entered, Dipper paused his head snapping to look at the other looking as if he were a deer in the headlights, his eyes still glistening from tears his face a little red.

“Well well well, you trying to steal my shit?” The other asked with a wide grin, he narrowed his eyes looking at Dipper a little more closely, “Aw is the little freshman homesick,” He mocked, and Dipper rolled his eyes moving back to his own bed and rubbing at his face to get rid of the tears.

“Why do you have a circle of bottles?” Dipper asked trying to sound casual, 

“Aw does it bother you or something?” The other gave and obnoxiously fake pout, Dipper felt his anger rise growing tired of being pushed, 

“No, though I’m pretty sure it isn’t normal to drink some much alcohol,” Dipper scrunched his nose up, and it wasn’t even the good stuff, he mentally noted, it was just his luck to get stuck with an alcoholic, kind of ironic he thought. 

“I don’t see it being your business kid,” The other smirked,

“It will be if you end up dying of alcohol poisoning on me, or your empty bottles attract flies either would be bad,” Dipper crossed his arms eying the bottles, some had a little liquid left over, 

“Trust me kid these won’t attract anything,” The other raised an eye brow his smirk growing,

“Stop calling me kid, we’re practically the same age,” Dipper spat, getting irritated with the others obnoxiousness, 

“I’m still your superior though, so you should listen to me” He smirked down at Dipper condescendingly, 

“For God’s sake do you always have to be so obnoxious,” Dipper spat angrily only earning a grin in return, had the other been trying to get a rise out of him this whole time? “Ugh whatever, I’ve had too much shit to deal with today to deal with someone who won’t even give me their name,” Dipper grumbled deciding to leave so he didn’t start an argument, 

“It’s Bill, Bill Cipher.” The other smirked as Dipper turned just about to leave, Dipper paused absorbing the information before letting out a frustrated sigh slamming the door behind him. He was tempted to storm and ask if he could move rooms but decided against it, he doubted that he would be allowed without good reason, while he thought the fact that Bill was an asshole would count as a valid reason. Dipper made his way over to Mark’s dorm room which seemed to be in full party mode.


	2. Chapter 2

The room was full of a surprising amount of people, considering the size most of them seemed to be pretty drunk already, since there wasn’t enough room for anything people were mainly sat chatting. Dipper immediately felt self-conscious, he didn’t know anyone here and everyone already seemed to know each other, he took a calming breath making his way to one end of the room that seemed less crowded and grabbed himself a bottle of water, he unscrewed the cap and made sure it was water before taking a sip. Martha spotted him and weaved her way through the people to get to him, 

“Hey, you came!” She beamed, Dipper managed a small smile back. 

“Yeah, there sure are a lot of people here,” Dipper said, 

“Yeah, it’s cramped and there’s not much room to do anything but it’s still kinda fun,” She replied, she had a cup in her hand and seemed to be a little drunk already. “Come on I want you to meet some people,” She dragged him by the wrist to a small group of people all pretty tipsy. They all chatted together about various things and getting increasingly more drunk until their conversations became slurred, Dipper tried to keep up with their drunken conversations, but he found it rather difficult, 

“Hey Dipper, why aren’t you drinking? Someone get the boy a drink!” one of the group called, Dipper smiled politely, 

“Oh, thanks but I don’t drink,” he said receiving a dramatic gasp from the other, 

“Really?” They asked in disbelief, their over exaggerated shock making Dipper laugh a little, 

“Really,” He replied amused, the conversation moved on after that to somehow talking about snakes. He ended up staying much later than he had expected to, entering his own room at around two am, he made sure to enter as quietly as he could so not to disturb his currently sleeping roommate, he got in bed without changing planning on only laying down for a minute while he gathered his thoughts together.

Dipper felt an overwhelming sadness making him want to curl up and cry but when he tried to move he found he was stuck by an invisible force. Suddenly he felt his breath stop and an alarming pressure in his throat tightened and tightened, Dipper tried to cry out but found he couldn’t. Tears fell down his eyes and he tried to struggle against the grip on his throat.

Dipper shot upright in bed panting a little, he could hear the soft sound of the shower running in the background and the window was slightly open letting a slight breeze into the room and pale autumn sunlight streamed through the window, there was a slight murmur of the other students in their dorms; it all seemed too peaceful. 

Dipper ran his hand through his hair, slightly damp with sweat, and he noticed that he had once again fallen asleep in his clothes. His nightmare remained vivid in his head and he took a few deep breaths to calm down, he rubbed his slightly damp face noting that he had been crying in his sleep. He swung his feet over his bed feeling the plush carpet through his socks. He stretched, his back popping and a yawn escaping his mouth. He desperately needed shower and to get dressed but it seemed that Bill was in the bathroom.

Dipper once again glanced at the circle of bottles surrounding his bed trying to get a close look at them, they seemed like ordinary empty beer bottles, he had assumed that Bill was just a heavy drinker but the way the ghost reacted couldn’t be coincidence. Dipper pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and flipped through the pages until he got to the one he had written about protection spells, he had assumed that it could only be done with salt, ashes and somethings iron but bottles was a first, he wondered if they were special made bottles or if he had been wrong before and you only needed a circle of something. He itched to ask Bill but didn’t want to mention anything remotely paranormal in case Bill would decide to taunt him for it. Dipper chewed his bottom lip deep in thought; convincing himself that this was all just a big coincidence and he shouldn’t get involved in any of it. Classes were going to start in a week and he needed to prepare himself for that, he could try to figure out a way to protect his own bed but couldn’t worry himself about ghosts right now. He didn’t want to be cast out as some crazy guy and bullied for the rest of his college life, he just wanted to have a normal college experience. He put his notebook back in his pocket and checked his phone trying to distract himself from all those thoughts, he had a few texts from Mabel and he tapped out a few replies promising to meet her for breakfast at the diner, so they could hang out. 

Dipper took off his hoodie throwing it on his bed and dug in his bags for some fresh clothes and his toiletries waiting for Bill to get out of the shower, so he could take his own much needed one. While waiting his eyes fell onto the book he had left out on his bed and he grabbed it and absorbed himself into reading. The book itself was very interesting but Dipper found himself distracted as Bill took his sweet time in the shower. He glanced at the time in his phone a few times nervously after a ridiculously long time in the shower Bill came out only wearing a towel, Dipper glanced at him irritated, 

“Took your time,” He muttered, 

“Ah good morning sunshine,” Bill smirked his tone condescending, 

“Whatever,” Dipper muttered, grabbing his clothes and toiletries and almost storming to the bathroom. Dipper took a longer than usual shower, his mind racing with many thoughts mainly about Bill and the bottles. Once Dipper was done he shut off the water changing in the bathroom before leaving, his towel perched on his shoulders catching the droplets of water from his hair. He entered the room to find Bill intently look at his phone while drying his golden yellow hair, black roots peaked out showing Dipper that his hair was not naturally that colour. Bill wore some loose sweatpants and a tight black t-shirt, he had tanned skin and his face was adorned with splatters of freckles, his eyes were a hazel colour, almost golden looking; Dipper felt his face dust pink realising that Bill was actually a pretty attractive guy. Turning away quickly before he was caught staring Dipper finished getting ready towel drying his hair reminding himself that Bill was an asshole. Neither spoke to each other, whatever was on Bill’s phone seemed to be more interesting than mocking Dipper. Checking his phone Dipper realised he was already five minutes late so mumbling a goodbye and rushing off to where Mabel said the diner was.

Mabel had already gotten a table and was drinking some, no doubt, sugar loaded tea. Dipper gave a small smile at the warm feeling he got from the small but cosy feel of the diner, he slid into the seat opposite Mabel who smiled brightly at him,

“Morning bro bro,” She grinned, 

“Morning Mabel, you seem chipper today considering you went to a college party last night,” Dipper said, a woman whose name tag said Lazy Susan came over asking what they wanted and they both ordered food, Dipper ordering a coffee, 

“I am chipper! Everyone is so nice, plus I didn’t drink last night so no hangover!” Mabel beamed, Dipper gave a small smile, 

“You think everyone is nice,” He pointed out, 

“Pfsh, not everyone, anyway how did it go last night,” Mabel asked her grin faltering just a little, her voice had a slight concerned edge to it, it was barely noticeable but Dipper picked up on it, 

“It was nice,” Dipper replied, and Susan placed a hot mug of coffee in front of Dipper who gave her a small smile and a thank you, 

“That’s good,” Mabel smiled though it seemed slightly forced, “So, have you seen any ghosts yet?” She asked lowering her voice a little. Dipper hesitated unsure whether to tell her, she was the only one who knew he could see ghosts. Well he supposed he had told his parents, but they didn’t believe him nor did many of the other people he told, Mabel hadn’t at first, but she eventually took him seriously and was very supportive of him. 

“Actually, I kinda have, some kid has been following me around the dorms,” Dipper scratched the back of his neck nervously, 

“Woah, do you know what he wants?” Mabel asked leaning forwards in interest, Dipper shook his head,

“Just that it has something to do with the forest,” he shrugged, Mabel opened her mouth to reply but just then their food came the twins both gave a polite smile and said an accidentally synchronised thank you, 

“Aw aren’t you two just adorable,” Susan gave them a warm smile, Dipper bit back a rude remark while Mabel thanked her with a small laugh, “Y’know there’s a pair of twins who run the mystery shack, nice pair they are, just like you kids,” Susan said, 

“Oh, you must be talking about our great uncle’s!” Mabel exclaimed happily, Susan’s face brightened, 

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re the niece and nephew I’ve heard so much about, let me think, Dipper and Mabel, was it?” She smiled at them both, Mabel nodded enthusiastically, 

“Woah, they talked about us?” She asked in surprise, Dipper raised his eyebrows in surprise, they had only met their great uncle’s a few times, he actually thought they didn’t even remember their names, 

“Oh yeah, they were showing off about how well you both did in school and how you were coming here for college, you guys must be genius’ to get into the college here” Susan laughed, Mabel beamed and Dipper gave his own small smile, Susan seemed like she knew Stan and Ford pretty well and both twins were surprised that they had been talking about them even showing off. “Well I’ll let you guys eat,” Susan went off to serve some of the other customers and Mabel dug into her food eagerly. 

“I didn’t even know Stan and Ford knew our names,” Dipper commented, Mabel made a noise in agreement her mouth full of food, 

“We should go visit them soon,” She said between bites. Dipper dug into his own food nodding, “Oh yeah what are you gunna do about that ghost?” She asked remembering their earlier conversation, 

“I’m just going to ignore it like the others,” Dipper shrugged, poking his food with his fork suddenly losing his appetite, he never quite liked talking about ghosts, even with Mabel. 

“But Dipper you said they’re only a kid!” Mabel exclaimed her eyes wide and Dipper rolled his eyes,

“Mabel they’re all the same, you know better than anyone why I can’t help him,” Dipper tried to conceal his anger but some of it leaked onto the surface, Mabel opened her mouth to say something before closing it and sighing, 

“I know,” She said slightly dejectedly, Dipper sighed pushing his food around with his fork absentmindedly, 

“So, have you met your roommate yet?” Dipper asked breaking the lull of awkward silence, and Mabel’s face brightened, 

“Oh yeah, she’s called Candy and her friend Grenda are both super nice, they’re both in all my classes and we have so much in common,” Mabel continued rambling on about all the new friends she had made for most of breakfast, once they had finished eating they decided to look around town. Dipper told Mabel about Mark and Martha and about how obnoxious Bill was, they bought a few school supplies and Dipper dragged her to the second-hand bookshop he had found the day he got there. They both went back to his dorm since it was nearby, and dropped off their stuff, luckily Bill wasn’t there so they had some peace while Mabel looked around the room. Dipper then suggested they go look around campus for a while until Mabel had to leave to hang out with some of her new friends. Afterwards Mabel grabbed her stuff from Dipper’s room before giving him a big hug and leaving just as Bill got in. 

“You had your girlfriend in here?” Bill smirked suggestively, Dipper’s face scrunched up in disgust, 

“Ew god no, she’s my sister,” Dipper almost shuddered at the thought, Bill just laughed at him mockingly and Dipper rolled his eyes, moving to his bed and grabbing his book to read. He considered leaving the dorm to read but he was kinda tired already so he put his headphones in to block out Bill who seemed happy to play on his laptop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is much smaller than the last and is about the average length of most chapters I'll upload, leave a comment and tell me what you think, the next chapter should be up about next weekend. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this, if you liked it give it a comment and a like. The next chapter shouldn't be too long, thanks for reading!


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